Key holder



Sept. 16, 1952 J. MAAS 2,610,501

KEY HOLDER Filed March 6, 1948 I N V EN TOR.

Patented Sept. 16, g 1952 KEY noLniiia Louis J..Maas,Detroit,1Mieh. Application Marthe, 1948 ;Iseria its. latte This inv ntion relates to key homer One object of'this invention is toprovide a key holder which by a; simple manipulation will auto-' matically select one key from several keys on the; holder, either in daylight or in darkness, without requiring any eifor't on the part of the operator to locate the key.

Another object is to providea keyholder which by the aid of a simple mechanism automatically selects a chosen key out of a'group of keys carried by the holder, the weight'of the unchosen keys cooperating with the caseto automatically expose the chosen key when the keyhol'de'r is held in a certain manner by the user;

Another object is to provide a keyholder which ic l y sele t n of asroup cf keys in the holder, without the use of springs, latch mechanism orpush buttons andwithout the need for any mental'eifort" on the part. of the user; who

' merely is required to" hold ithe 'keyholder in a certain manner'and permit'the unselectedkeys to dropaway'from the selected key'by the force of gravity; the presence of the caseb'eing preferable but not necessary'to the proper functioning of the key holder; 1' I Another object is to provide a key holder having several. keys carried ina case and particularly we1l-adapted to carrying an automobile ignition key, the case being 'so coiistructed'that when the ignition key is inserted in the ignition switch on the dash of the automobile, it cooperates with the case to prevent the other keys from rattling or contacting the dash.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a key holder according to a preferred form of the invention, with four keys held thereby;

Figure 2 is a right-hand side elevation of the key holder shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the key holder shown in Figures 1 and 2 Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of the key holder case;

Figure 6 is a side elevation showing the manner in which the key holder is held in the hand at the start of the key-selecting operation.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing the position of the parts after the second operation in manipulating" the key holder; and

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the key holder of Figures 1 to 7 inclusive, wherein one of the keys cooperates with the case to prevent contact of the other keys with the dash board or other surface into which the key is inserted.

2 Claims; (Cl. 70 -456) I Referringito the drawings'i'n detail, Figures .1

to 4 inclusive show a preferred form of the key holder of the" present invention, generallyjdesig hated It, as consisting generally of a pivot strut ture l I and a case l2 loosely and pivot-ally mounted thereon. The caserii' is-opti'onal but is preferablyemploye'd in order to protect the lining of the pockets, handbag or'other receptacle in which the keys are placed; An'y number of keys may' be carried by the; key holder, but for purposes 'of. illustration there is shown: one se lecte'd key I3'which'it is desired to' automatically expose, whether in darkness or light, and three other unselected keys [4; The pivot structure {H on which the keys l3 and M are mounted consists of'e'ziternally and internally threaded screw members [1 and; I18 respectively (Figure l), the latter having a threaded bore 19. into which the threaded stem 2il of the former is inserted; The mempars l land IB'are provided with enlarged heads E I and 22 respectively, and annular integral flanges 23' and'ze spaced axially away from the heads 2'! and 22, along the shank portions 25 and 26 respectively; On theopposit'ef side of the flange portions23 afnd24 themembers' H and ware-provided with shank portions 21' and 28 of different diameters. A washer" 29 having a.

' hole so is loosely mounted on the shank'portion tightly between the flange portion'23 and washer 29 by screwing the threaded members I! and I8 firmly together.

The case [2 is of approximately U-shaped. cross-section and has aligned holes SI and 32 (Figures 4 and 5) in the opposite side walls thereof which are sufiiciently large to be stretched over the flange portions 23 and 24 without passing freely back over these flange portions. The rear wall or connecting wall of the case I2, is provided with a notch 33 for a purpose described below. The case I2 is made from any suitable material, leather being found to be. particularly suitable because of its yielding and stretching characteristics, as well asits softness. The screw heads I1 and it! are provided with the usual slots 36 and 35 respectively for the insertion of a screw driver.

In the use of the invention, let it be assumed, as previously stated, that the selected key [3 is tightly clampedbetween the flange portions 23 and the washer 29 by firmly screwing the threaded members I! and 18 together, the end of the shank 28 of the threaded member l8 engaging and urging the washer 29 against the side of the selected key 13. Let it also be assumed that the unselected keys l4 are mounted to pivot loosely and freely about the shank portion 28 of the threaded member I8.

To select the key I3 from the holder Ill and expose it, the operator grasps the holder with the heads 21 and 22 of the pivot structure H held firmly between the thumb and index finger of the hand (Figure 6) and with the case 12 containing the keys [3 and 14 held with its open side upward. To select the key, the operator permits the case [2 and the keys I4 therein to drop to a vertical position (Figure 7) under the force of gravity while maintaining a tight grip on the pivot structure ll between his thumb and forefinger. since the keys [4 and case I2 are loosely and pivotally mounted on the pivot structure 1 1, they drop freely into a vertical position. Since the selected key l3, however, is clamped tightly to the pivot structure II, it remains in a horizontal position when the case 12 and unselected keys [4 drop away from it by gravity.

When the keyholder I is used to hold an automobile ignition key, the notch 33 comes into play to prevent either the remaining keys or the case from touching the surface of the dash board or other member 40 into which the key is inserted. The bottom of the notch 331s slightly above the level of the axis of the holes 3| and 32 (Figure so that the key case 12 will be held in an inclined position (Figure 8) with the bottom of the .notch 33 pushed against the key in the ignition switch 41, the case l2 being held in this positionby the weight of the remaining'keys l4.

What I claim isi I .1. A key holder for automatically selecting a selected key from one or more unselected keys comprising an elongated pivot structure having enlarged heads at its opposite ends and having a substantially smooth external pivot surface lying between said heads, said pivot structure including a pair of pivot elements arranged coaxially with one another, one of said pivot elements bearing a key abutment thereon, and a key clamping member on said abutment bearing pivot element,

the other pivot element being adapted to urge said clamping member and the selected key into clamping engagement therewith against said abutment and fixedly and immovably secure said selected key to said abutment, said other pivot element being adapted to loosely and pivotally fit the holes in the unselected keys.

2. A key holder for automatically selecting a selected key from one or more unselected keys comprising an elongated pivotstructure having enlarged heads at its opposite ends and having a substantially smooth external pivot surface lying ,between said heads, said pivot structure including an internally threaded screw element, a key clamping member having a hole therethrough, and an externally threaded screw element threaded through the hole in said clamping member into said internally threaded screw ele ment, said externally threaded screw element having a key abutment thereon and a shank portion adapted to pass through the hole in the selected key, and said internally threaded. screw element having a portion adapted to clampingly urge said clamping member against said selected key and said selected key fixedly and immovably against said abutment, said internally threaded screw element having a shank portion adapted to pass loosely through the holes in the unselected keys.

' LOUISJ. MAAS.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

UNIT STATES PATENTS a Great Britain .June 17, 1920 

